Wraithkal: The Indie Gaming Corner
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‘Ion Maiden’ Hits Early Access, Determined to Show Old-School Shooters How It’s Done

Remember how much fun it was to track down keycards in first person shooters back in the day? How you felt, discovering secret after secret, one easter egg after another, as your ammunition and health supplies ran dangerously low? Even if you don't, that's something Ion Maiden aims to bring back this year - while looking pretty darn groovy, I might add!
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‘Dissembler’ Review: Colorful Flipping

There's something undeniably relaxing about the matching of colors, whether it be your typical match-3 game (hi there, Bejeweled), or something a tad more abstract, like... Ian MacLarty's latest creation, Dissembler. Here, you're tasked with flipping tiles to match three colors, at which point they'll be removed, gone from the game. It sounds quite simple, but there's a catch. Or several, rather. And these not only separates the title from similar puzzlers, they also help create something genuinely unique.
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‘CalligraTree’ Impressions: Wood Branches Out to a Tall Tree

Generally speaking, video games are a bit of a stressful form of entertainment, always forcing players to pursue some sort of goal, some sort of... well... objective. Whether it be saving the planet, eliminating a grand evil, or simply surviving, there's always something to strive for. While that does also hold true for CalligraTree, it does offer a noticeably more zen experience.
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‘Dark Forest’ Impressions: Brushes With Death Shall Guide You Forward

Bow in hand, armed with an unlimited supply of arrows (because why not?), it's time to stop a pesky spirit in Dark Forest! But before you can even fight it, four keys must be collected, after which a trip through the Dark Realm gate is to be made. Sounds simple enough, right? Well... each key resides in its own realm, none of which are easily accessible.
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Celebrate ‘Tales of Maj’Eyal’s Sixth Birthday With Upcoming ‘Forbidden Cults’ Expansion

Hard to believe that this year, the popular roguelike Tales of Maj'Eyal will be celebrating its sixth birthday... and yet more expansions (not to mention content patches) are still in the making. Impressive effort, and this latest - Forbidden Cults - certainly looks like something that'll add unique and clever twists to a title already packing a ton of depth. So darn groovy.
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Solve Puzzles to Face Your Fears as You Try to Survive ‘The Cabinets of Doctor Arcana’

Doctor Arcana has been missing for years, but as fate would have it, one stormy Halloween night, you suddenly find yourself standing at the gates of his home - or castle, rather. Whether to take shelter from the awful weather or because the place itself beckoned you to enter, you do, and become immediately trapped. Like a rat. One who shall forever remain here, unless somehow ever last puzzle in The Cabinets of Doctor Arcana is solved. Oh boy.
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Feel the Beat in ‘TERRORHYTHM TRRT’ to Bust a Move Within a Relentless Onslaught

Punch left! Punch right! Kick left! Kick left! Stomp! STOMP! STOM-- too late, you're dead. Or maybe that's not quite how TERRORHYTHM TRRT plays. Hard to say, as I can't really tell from available footage at this point. What is obvious however, is that we're dealing with a combat-centric rhythmic affair here, with... a hint of One Finger Death Punch. That last bit? Definitely a positive, far as I'm concerned.
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‘SteamWorld Dig’ Review: Mine?

When people go digging deep underground, it's usually for one of two things (although sometimes both): wealth or curiosity. In the case of Rusty, SteamWorld Dig's protagonist, it's… a bit of both. Having received the claim to his uncle's mine, he takes after him and gets to digging, albeit rather reluctantly. On top of that, as fate would have it, all is not quite right in the depths below town, and digging for valuables soon becomes rather… hazardous.
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‘Sprout’ Impressions: From Coconut to Oak, the Journey

Little known fact: coconuts have dreams too, and... well, some dream of... becoming a mighty oak, because why not? Such is the story of Sprout at least, in which you've been tasked with guiding a coconut (seed?) across a great distance, changing form as necessary to travel ever further. If you think this sounds a tad odd, you're not alone, but trust me, it makes sense. For a video game.
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Unite ‘Mesmer’s People Under One Banner, Start a Revolution and Overthrow the King!

Time to revisit the universe of Teslagrad and World to the West, although this time you won't be playing the part of a lone hero. Instead, you'll need to rally people and get everyone onboard (somehow), while avoiding the attention of the Crown as that... is going to get you into trouble. What am I on about? Why, just that you're going to play an essential part of Mesmer's revolution. Down with the king!
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‘Neera: Dark Secrets’ Impressions: Master of Hydromancy, Save the Azedac Kingdom

The Kingdom of Azedac is in trouble, wouldn't you know it? Something about a dark mage and potentially corrupt royalty, best I could tell during my time in the shoes of Neera, hydromancer, investigator and protagonist of Neera: Dark Secrets. So what's a girl (read: Neera) to do? Why, take matters into her own hands of course, doing her darnest to rid Azedac of whatever plague has befallen it!
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‘Treasure Adventure World’ Lets You Explore a Wondrous World With… a Shrinking Boat?!

I want what Treasure Adventure World's protagonist has, and I'm not talking about the starring role in a game that looks absolutely amazing. Well, I wouldn't mind that either, but... his magical shrinking boat! The things I could do, the places I would go, with such a trinket. My goodness. That said, since the odds of him handing it over are slim to none, guess we can at least help him search for legendary treasure, and who knows what else.
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This Month, Venture ‘Into the Breach’ to Outsmart an Alien Threat With Tactical Prowess

Unless something is done about the alien threat, mankind won't last much longer, gigantic creatures hellbent on our total annihilation and all. But hey, we have mechs at our disposal, and you, the player, leading them - so why fear a bunch of pesky invaders, right? Why indeed. Oh, and keep in mind that time travel is a thing, as you venture... Into the Breach!
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‘Hand of Fate 2’ Adds Steam Workshop Support With ‘Game Master’s Toolkit’

It's been a hundred years and four months, give or take, since the events in Hand of Fate transpired. A lot has happened, including the story continuing in... wait for it... Hand of Fate 2. But while this release garnered much attention at the time, it has already been covered here. What I am about to share with you is pretty darn important too, though: Steam Workshop support has been added, and with it, the Game Master's Toolkit!
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Mine, Mine, Mine: ‘SteamWorld Dig 2’ Gets Physical On PlayStation 4 and Switch

They say there's no business like show business, but if you ask SteamWorld Dig 2's protagonist, she'd likely claim that there's no business like mining business! She is after all quite determined to discover what is causing those earthquakes below El Machino, so hey, why not make a profit at the same time? And the best way to do both at once... involves swinging a pickaxe plenty.
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‘Wulverblade’ Review: For the Glory of Britannia!

The armies of Rome have been marching on Britannia in Wulverblade, making steady progress, having long since taken control of the south. Now their sights are set on the north, and the Ninth Legion is ready, numbering a grand total of 5,000! No problem, right? Well, it would be an easy conquest... if not for Caradoc, Brennus, and Guinevere, guardians of the northern tribes, that is. A trio not to be trifled with, as the Romans are about to find out.
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‘Starward Rogue’ Gets AuGMENTED With Lots of New Items, Areas, Enemies, Everything!

Hard to believe that it's been over a year already, since players first got to experience Arcen Games' blend of roguelike, bullethell, mech... thing... in space. Yeah. Quite a mix that one, and a fun one at that! Plenty to do, see, shoot and collect, and with the recently released AuGMENTED expansion, Starward Rogue is bigger and better than ever. New enemies! New weapons! New MECHS! YEAH! Ahem.
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